A BROADSIDE has been fired at the huge government subsidies being pumped into the supply and use of energy in Australia. The attack comes from the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research which claims the public money is encouraging higher levels of energy use than would result if full pricing were applied. A report from the institute paves the way for the government to cut the subsidies which total a staggering $6 to $8 billion a year. The burden instead will fall on suppliers and users who may be more frugal.

The report, Subsidies to the use of Natural Resources, was formally launched by the government at a conference I attended in Sydney earlier this monththe Fenner conference on environmental indicators.

According to the report, indentifiable financial subsidies, such as the supply of electricity at prices below the cost, amount to $2 billion a year. The diesel fuel rebate ...

To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.

To continue reading this article, log in or subscribe to New Scientist